Comments on: Social Bookmarking Icons – Are they Worth It?

By: iZeby

iZeby — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:56:07 +0000

I love social bookmarking, it is an awsome way to promote sites for free.

By: iZeby

iZeby — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:47:18 +0000

Social bookmarking has become one of the major methods of free promotion for websites. We would be crazy not to take advantage of such a huge means of promotions.

By: Marvin

Marvin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:05:50 +0000

I consider the icons to be a must have feature on my blog even if they aren’t actually used. It’s my opinion that it has become an expectation of readers to see them at the bottom of each post. It’s kind of an unspoken rule that if you have these on your site then your hip, dialed in, with the program so to speak.

From the reading I’ve done about effectiveness it seems that some definitely are more beneficial then others. Apparently Stumble upon is a favorite and for some bloggers has provided new traffic. It may be that there is a reader demographic which relates to the kind of social bookmarking sites the frequent or use.

If you could figure out which sites appeal readers that are likely to find your blog content relevant you might want to include those and exclude others and diminish the size of the flock of icons that appear on many sites.

By: Slazzie

Slazzie — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:34:50 +0000

I disagree, I think social network links make the difference sure not everyone will use them and some will get used more then others, but if even 1 person uses one of the more obscure sites that I have an icon of on my site, then it will have paid off. Add as many social icons as you can without overdoing it, if any of them get used – you’ll get 1 extra bit of notice somewhere on the web, that’s 1 more then if you had nothing at all. I guarantee the sheer probability is on your side that someone who uses that social network will come across your site and chances are they will be reminded to use that link. It doesn’t hurt, and can actually help – or don’t use it, doesn’t matter to me because I’ve seen the amount of traffic that this can harness.

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:14:25 +0000

I does not like them to. It’s sometimes over load sites and private blogs. I think it’s does not help.

By: How Many Social Media Icons Is Too Many? - TheVanBlog

How Many Social Media Icons Is Too Many? - TheVanBlog — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 04:52:04 +0000

[...] I also came across this post from Darren Rowse, Social Bookmarking Icons – Are they Worth it?, which takes a mixed view. I’ll let you read the post for the details, but for the gist I guess what I’m saying is that on the majority of my blog posts the icon doesn’t do anything (in fact some would say it might cheapen the look of the site – especially when the counter is low) – however on the occasional post the icon might just give a quality post that doesn’t quite have the legs to go viral a lift that creates a digg-a-lanche. [...]

By: Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:59:46 +0000

jdanylko – what do you mean by that link? it’s what I linked to in the main post above….

By: jdanylko

jdanylko — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:57:25 +0000

Darren,

Just to add more fuel to why we shouldn’t have the Social Bookmarking Icons…

http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/93-its-the-content-not-the-icons

By: The Value of Social Bookmarking Icons by Blogging Pro

The Value of Social Bookmarking Icons by Blogging Pro — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 22:47:48 +0000

[...] Darren has a post up talking about if it is worth it to display social bookmarking icons. I am sure you have seen them or tried them out. They are little picture links that when clicked allow users to “easily” add your post to social web 2.0 sites. I guess what I’m saying is that on the majority of my blog posts the icon doesn’t do anything (in fact some would say it might cheapen the look of the site – especially when the counter is low) – however on the occasional post the icon might just give a quality post that doesn’t quite have the legs to go viral a lift that creates a digg-a-lanche. [...]

By: Social Bookmarks - Bad for Blogs? at Content Quake

Social Bookmarks - Bad for Blogs? at Content Quake — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:28:02 +0000

[...] I think I side with Rand on this more than the others, and the three above are not the only ones talking about it either. Social bookmarking icons on blogs to me are a positive thing. It allows readers to virally get the word out about an article to an unlimited number of readers. If I like an article and send it to 10 people via email, and they send it to 20 others, chances are it will not be seen by nearly as many as if the article got 20 diggs. [...]

By: Social Bookmarking Icons

Social Bookmarking Icons — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:38:40 +0000

[...] Social Bookmarking Icons Problogger Darren Rowse recently wrote a post about having those social bookmarking icons at the bottom of every blog post, and if they are worthwhile. He was referring to another post by 37 signals, which advocates quality content. [...]

By: HART (1-800-HART)

HART (1-800-HART) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:29:48 +0000

Eh? You can get extra traffic by having social bookmarking icons on yoursite? Kewl!

Actually – apparently I had installed it on my 1800HART blog last May and don’t recall EVER being “digged” by anybody or seeing that icon. So .. I just “DUGG” myself tonight on my latest post to be sure it works, and it does. ~ I guess I’ll see what happens now ~~ C’mon Traffic!! (Can I digg myself?)

Back on topic .. I like the DIGG button at the top of a post but admit to only clicking the button if I like the blogger or site in general (like Digital Photography School for instance) Only then will I click the DIGG button as a courtesy or gratuitious click or tap on the back to the blogger – not because I liked the article (even if I did a little) but because I like the site and hope to encourage continued blogging. Personally – I don’t really care about social bookmarking sites, but I know some like it for some reason.

I’m blind to all those gajillion icons show at the bottom of people’s posts and don’t think they cheapen the look .. it makes it look more .. Bloggish. i.m.o.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 06:35:02 +0000

I recently added a couple options to two of my blogs and I did it as an experiment of sorts to see what, if anything, it does for my blogs. I have 6 icons at the bottom of each post and while they are certainly noticeable, I don’t think they are “in your face” when you view them.

I am curious whether people will respond to them or not. The way I see it, my blogs could only benefit from the icons. My one blog is a pretty small blog and I feature some items which I believe are of interest generally (for example, Scrybe, the Google acquisitions etc) so they may help build my readership. Then again, they may not.

If readers complain about them, I may remove them. For now, I would like to see what happens.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:42:22 +0000

I’m not that savvy at setting them up, so I don’t have them, but I have experienced “button envy” on a number of occasions…

However, after reading all the comments, I think I’m happy with the state of affairs as they stand on my site :)

All the blogs I read are from word of mouth reference anyway.

By: techipedia: anything tech. » Blog Archive » New Blogs Can Use Social Bookmarking: A Rebuttal Against 37Signals

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:24:55 +0000

[...] Darren Rowse of Problogger read the thread with interest and didn’t know what to make of it. I happen to be contemplating the value of these social bookmarking icons myself, but I think that Darren does doubt the power of them a lot more than I do (and I’m certainly not as popular as he is!) [...]

By: Ross Hill

Ross Hill — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:09:05 +0000

I think in the end it comes down to how nice you want the design of your site to be. It is hard to argue that having 20 little buttons with different icons looks nice, but it might get you a couple of extra hits on a good post.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 04:20:15 +0000

I used to put those icons in one of my blogs awhile back. Never really see it’s effectiveness in terms of clickthrough rate or whatsoever. There seem to be everyone’s doing it nevertheless. Any major benefit? i doubt so, in my opinion.

By: Tamar Weinberg

Tamar Weinberg — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:08:07 +0000

I blogged about your post, Darren. :)

http://www.photocritique.us/2006/10/31/graduate-from-the-world-of-point-and-shoot-photography-go-dslr/

I’m similarly torn. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m a pretty new blogger, and nobody has heard of me (yet — that’s what ProBlogger is here for) ;) I like the social bookmarking tools but not in excess, and comparing my two blogs to each other, I am utilizing the sociable plugin for one (with all buttons enabled) and a customized solution from toprankblog.com on the aforementioned blog. To be perfectly honest, its implementation is practical and can often give a user a subtle hint. The sociable idea is a little bit too heavy on the graphics and probably not really useful — at least if you choose all of the buttons.

I certainly don’t see social bookmarking icons as a deterrent. If anything, they will be an aid. The top blogs highlighted by 37signals are famous because of their age and the content within — but mostly because age and regular updates (by dedicated editors) make these sites popular. For newcomers to the scene, these buttons can get the blogs there, but it will take time. Some blogs made it on their own merit, but if Technorati is really tracking 58.6 million blogs, then besides the content and marketing of your blog, you’re going to have to give your blog a little push so that it gets out there even further. (And after reading the comments, this is exactly what John Smulo in #23 said) ;)

By: Sergio Rebelo

Sergio Rebelo — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 22:57:05 +0000

I think the kind o fDigg Buttons you have on your blog that only show up when the story has already been digged work.

I am not a great digg user. From time to time I go to digg a spend a little bit of time browsing the articles and give a digg here and there. When I am reading a blog and I like the article I don’t go to digg to see if the article is already there and digg it, but if i have a button righ there under my nose, I’ll give it a digg

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 22:25:51 +0000

A lot of bookmarking icons can really muddy up a site – and I think they can grab attention away from the content, your internal links, and your adsense spots.But I do think they are helpful, especially when you’re starting out and I would suggest the following …

- Limit the number of icons to a few of the more well known sites

- Think about using text links rather than graphical icons – it’s less obtrusive on the page